NARCISSUS: AN ANCIENT ROMAN PANTOMIME

Chamber (Piano, Percussion, Flute, Full Chorus), 33 min

A creative reconstruction of the lost art-form of Ancient Roman Pantomime.

This is the third and final installment in a trilogy of original musical works based on tales of love and transformation in Ovid’s Metamorphosis. The story follows the well-known myth of the man who fell in love with his own reflection. 

Originally conceived as Santino’s thesis project at Binghamton University with direction and choreography by Austin Tooley, masks designed by Wendy Drolma, and an original score and libretto by Santino DeAngelo. The initial workshop performance was performed live by Santino in BTV Studio 6 (the University’s closed-circuit television channel) in May 2013. 

Subsequently, the piece was re-recorded for broadcast on PBS-WSKG through special arrangement with the Tri-Cities Opera in January 2016, featuring Doug Baum as the pantomime artist and Jake Stamatis as Narcissus with direction by Austin Tooley, musical direction by Eric Frei, choreography by Gina Stevensen, dramaturgy by Martin Murray, and conducted by John Covelli. Produced by Alexandra Rangel at PBS/WSKG.

Part 1: Liriope (“Tell me Tiresias”) – Excerpt